It’s Official: The Former USS Kitty Hawk Will Be Dismantled

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The USS Kitty Hawk will die the way she lived: coming apart at the seams.

Despite speculation that the beloved “Battle Cat” might return to service, the first and last conventionally powered aircraft carrier of its class will be “disposed of and dismantled” after eight years in limbo following its decommissioning in 2009, Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman Colleen O’Rourke told the Kitsap Sun on Oct. 24.

Last June, Naval Sea Systems Command Vice Adm. Thomas Moore had floated the idea of reactivating the 82,000-ton supercarrier alongside an armada of Perry-class frigates to meet Navy’s daunting goal of boosting its 275-ship fleet to 355 hulls. But it wasn’t meant to be: O’Rourke this week cited the Navy’s April 2016 report to Congress on shipbuilding operations that identified the Kitty Hawk as a prime candidate for the scrapyard (NAVSEA did not immediately respond to request for comment).

The move isn’t a huge surprise. In an interview with the Kitsap Sun just last week, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer hinted that there was little hope for a reprieve for the aircraft carrier. “The business case for the Kitty Hawk would be a fairly big stretch,” Spencer said. “The only project that we have that has some activity going on is bringing back the Perry-class frigates, possibly.”

Kitty Hawk earned her stripes across 18 deployments from the Vietnam War to the 2003 invasion, but the aircraft carrier earned a less-than-flattering nickname during her 48 years at sea: “Shitty Kitty,” a fond if exasperated moniker for a vessel plagued with mechanical breakdowns and maintenance issues.

But despite its reputation as a “punishment ship,” the Kitty Hawk and her crew served the Navy admirably for nearly half a century. And for that, we salute you, Shitty Kitty. You were a mess, but you were our mess.Did you serve aboard the USS Kitty Hawk? We want to hear your war stories, good and bad: Sound off in the comments below or get at me at [email protected]

Jared Keller is a senior editor at Task & Purpose. A contributing editor at Pacific Standard magazine, he has previously worked for The Atlantic, Bloomberg Digital, Al Jazeera America, and Maxim.
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